Lisa Renstrom

Raised a Republican and a Catholic in Omaha Nebraska, my upbringing connected me to the natural world. Out of college, a raucous 10 years was spent running hotels in Acapulco Mexico. In 1993, I moved back to the USA, and found that not only had Republicans abandoned moderation, and renounced their role as conservators of land and place but a sect had taken over Christianity and turned the golden rule upside down.

Landing in Charlotte North Carolina I found my voice at a new members party to the Sierra Club and used it as local Chair of the Central Piedmont Group and Executive Director of Voice & Choices, a 13 county smart growth initiative. Shifting from local to national as the President of the national Sierra Club from 2005 to 2007, I thought I thought I could engage Americans in Climate solutions. 10 years later, and dozens of Boards, initiatives, and campaigns behind me, I am still at it. Maybe, as Co Director of Divest-Invest a campaign to revoke the social license of the fossil fuel industry to pollute our atmosphere and politics, I can make a dent sometime soon.

Oh yes, undergrad Finance Degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, urban studies and the University of North Carolina, Owner President Management Program at Harvard Business School and a Masters in Public Policy at the Kennedy School.